To say goodbye
by Neko11
Summary: Spoilers for those who aren't up to date with the manga! The strawhat crew's exploring the first island in New World. But something meaningful is there to find on the islan and Luffy makes a new important promise to someone he'd hold dear.


**Hey people, new story! I know it's only a one-shot, but well ;) First thing: This contains SPOILERS for chapter 590, so if you are not up to date with the manga, then don't read this! **

**Anyways, this came to my mind after re-reading the chapters after Ace's death (so sad! T^T). But enough of the author's note, just read it yourself :) Enjoy! =)**

**I'm sorry for any grammatical mistakes! If you spot some, feel free to tell me!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece! Belongs to Oda-sensei!**

**YXYXYXYXYXYXYXYXY**

**~*To say goodbye*~**

"ISLAAAND!

A new island, finally! Luffy was damn excited as ever if there's a new island in sight. It was a bright day and the sun shone and emphasized the nice atmosphere around them. Birds were flying above them, making Usopp curse as he had to clean some parts of the deck now again. Besides that, everything was fine and they all were in a good mood.

Sanji came out of his kitchen, a new lit cigarette in his mouth. He took in the salty taste of the slight breeze that blew through his hair and sighed satisfied. This would be the first island in the New World for them to visit! And the weather was just perfect.

"Islaaaand~!" Luffy yelled as he turned around from the figurehead to inform his crewmembers, mostly Zoro and Brook who both were sleeping on the deck. Zoro grumbled in his sleep before cracking an eye open, scanning the area. Brook shot up, gasping in shock.

"Huh? What? " he panted and Luffy jumped down to him, grinning in excitement.

"There's an island, right in front of us! Quick quick, get up, we're going on land to explore it soon!" he bounced up and down like a little kid, making Brook laugh.

"Yohohoho! I see! That's why you're so restless! Ah but I'm excited too!" the skeleton said and stood up, taking a look at the nice small island there.

"Nami! Has anyone informed Nami already?" Usopp asked, and just the same moment their Navigator was opening the door, smilind down at the long-nosed young man.

**YXYXYXYXYXYX**

A few minutes later they were going on land. The Thousand Sunny was being watched by Franky and Robin who decided to stay there, just in case. The rest of the strawhat crew went with Luffy who was full of energie.

As soon as they set their feet on the island the weather became darker and some clouds pushed themselves before the sun, shielding the bright and warm light away. Immediately the crew was a little worried if it would be raining or a thunderstorm coming and waited for their navigatior's answer. Nami took a quick look into the sky before giving the others her thumbs up.

"Don't worry, it's just getting a little cloudy. Nothing serious." she said with a smile.

"Phew. That's good." Usopp said. Then he gulped and looked around. The island looked very peaceful, but still the sniper got a feeling something was ... a little off. Or maybe different. He didn't knew what it was, but soon they all would come to know that this island was a meaningful place indeed.

"D-do you think there's a monster living here...?" Chopper asked, bibbering with wide eyes. Usopp secretly wiped his sweat away and laughed at the little reindeer. "Ha ha ha! Even if there's such a creepy creature living here, there's no need to worry! Remember, Usopp-san, the king of the snipers and the bravest warrior the world has ever seen, is always there to protect you!" he said, making a warrior like pose.

"Really..? Awesome, Usopp!" Chopper cheered, his fear long forgotten.

There weren't much plants, only a few bushes along the hillside, and no trees. The island was a small hill which top couldn't be seen due to the fact it was so steel. The grass and small bushes on the ground were the only plants to be seen. So far it was a really boring island, nothing special.

"Do you think there are any inhabitans here?" The sniper asked unsure, not wanting to be surprised by an enemy or even some kind of monster! The Grand Line was full of surprises after all, and he had no idea what the New World would be like ... surely not any less scary than the first part.

Suddenly, a single white petal was carried through the air by the soft wind blow. The crew's eyes followed it with their glances before they looked into the direction where it came from. The petal gracefully landed on Sanji's nose and he frowned. "So there are actually some flowers in this boring place?" he wondered aloud before he shook his head to get rid of the small petal.

A few silent seconds passed, then Sanji's left eye turned into a heart. "I'm off, maybe I can find some lovely flowers for my lovely Robin-san and Nami-chwaan~!" with that, only a dust cloud was to be seen where the cook usually stood. Sanji ran up the hill, only the two beauties of the strawhat crew in his mind. Zoro rolled his eye, sighing. "Dumbass..." he murmured.

But he got a feeling that there was something up there he needed to be aware of. Zoro stood there for several seconds, before realized the feeling wasn't easy to be shaken off. He sighed in defeat and began to walk after Sanji to the top of the hill.

"Hey Zoro, we're are you going? Interested in flowers, eh?" Usopp attempted to joke but failed miserably and only got a grumble as an answer. He decided to shrug it off, turning to Brook, Luffy, Chopper and Nami.

"And were are we going now? Following them?" he asked. Nami shook her head almost immediately. "No way, don't want to get in their way if they're starting a fight again..." she said, waving her hands in defence.

"You got a point there, Nami-san" Brook agreed and that's why they decided to simply walk along the coast, looking for any signs of life on this island. It seemed as if really no one lived here.

"Alright then! Let's go!" With that, Luffy was off, dashing along the coast with his four friends following. "Maybe there's some meaaaat!" they heard him say and sighed. "Man, so typical. He'll never change." Nami meant and threw her long, orange hair back, walking on.

"Lets check up on him, just in case he's going to do something stupid again" she then added in a more worrying voice.

Meanwhile, on top of the hill:

"Hey shit for brains, whaz up?" Zoro began as he finally caught up with the cook who stood there with the back to him, a single white flower holding in his hand. "What's with you and acting all like a stupid pillar of salt?"

But he got no answer and stepped nearer to take a look at what Sanji was looking at. "Oi, what's..." the older one of the two began but the sentence never got completed as Zoro gasped slightly. "This..."

Sanji stared at the two stones in front of him, saying nothing as he carefully put the beautiful flower down again, sighing. "We have to tell Luffy." he said in a sad tone and turned around, not looking back.

The green-haired man nodded in silent agreement and, throwing one last glance at it, followed the blond-haired man.

**YXYXYXYXYXYXY**

"Maaan, where's Sanji? I'm hungryy!" Luffy whined, pouting. Now he'd run twice around this island already and he hadn't even found an ant! It seemed as if there wasn't any life on this island! Beside that, he had a strange feeling. He'd already talked to the others about that and they felt kinda uneasy, too and wanted Sanji and Zoro to return quickly.

They were sitting before the Thousand Sunny, staring into the sky, on the ground or simply at each other, chatting. "This is the first island in the New World for us to visit, and the same time it is the most boring one I've ever seen. What a disappointment," Brook meant while sighing, silently playing a song on his violine to keep the others entertained.

"Shouldn't we go and search for them? The Log Pose is already pointing into a new direction, right?" Franky meant from the deck, looking down onto the others. Nami nodded.

"Yes, we're ready to set sail. But I think we don't have to search for them. I think I can see them coming already." She said, pointing to the hill where two figures apppeared.

"Yes! I can smell both of them!" Chopper commented with his nose lifted into the air.

"Yup, it's them. Okay, guys get ready to set sail, we're not staying any longer than needed here!" Luffy ordered, this time without his cheesy smile. One part of him felt like sailing to the next island, the other wanted to stay no matter what. What a weird feeling.

"Hey guys! Whe're already waiting! Move your butts, we're going!" Usopp yelled to them, waving. The cook and the swordsman, who usually didn't really came along nicely with each other, exchanged glances.

"Uhm... I think we should stay a little longer..." Sanji began, facing Luffy. "Huh? What's wrong? You're so quiet." their capitan noticed surprised, as well as the others.

Robin was the first one to realize. "What's up there? What did you find?" she asked them, knowing something was off.

"I think there's something ... Luffy needs to see." Zoro only said, looking at the ground while pointing with his thumb over his shoulder. Sanji nodded silently, litting another cigarette to calm his nerves.

"Huh? What.." Nami began but didn't finish her sentence. Luffy looked at his first mate and the cook with a motionless expression, not saying anything. He just stood up and began walking towards the hill, not looking back.

"Wait a sec, Luffy!" Nami said in a worried way and wanted to follow her capitan, but was surprisingly stopped by Sanji. The blond's usual visible eye was not to be seen and he puffed some smoke out. "Sanji, what is up there?" she asked again.

No one followed Luffy.

Mentioned person was almost there. The weather still didn't look as nice as before, no sun was shining. The wind was messing with his black hair, blowing through it. He had a strange feeling and could hear his own heart beat. Sanji and Zoro had been silent as they returned. They hadn't been fighting, not even insulting each other. What did they see? Just what?

Luffy gulped as he reached the top, eyes turning wide as he saw it. Although he'd already expected something like that, it was still shocking to actually see it there.

Right before him was Portgas D. Ace's grave.

**YXXYXYXYX**

"What? Ace's grave?" Nami gasped shocked, her hands covering her mouth. Sanji only nodded in response.

"His brother's grave...? No way.." Chopper began, gulping. Why was it here, on this island?

"Hmm...actually, it's not so surprising to find his grave here..." Robin began, getting the others attention. "I recall reading something about Akagami Shanks has taken Ace and Whitebeard with him after the war. So this is where he buried the two." she murmured loud enough for everyone to hear.

Usopp looked to the direction Luffy had disappeared to. "Shouldn't we ... see after him?" he asked concerned.

Zoro shook his head, his three earrings dangling against each other. "Nope. Just give him some time." the green haired man closed his eyes, arms crossing over his chest.

Zoro was right, the others knew that. It was something where Luffy's crew shouldn't interfere. They could only wait now.

**YXYXYXYXYXXYXY**

"A-Ace's grave...? Just how.." Luffy said more to himself, standing in front of his brother's grave. Right beside it was that of Whitebeard who had also died in the war. Many flowers were positioned around both of the graves, mostly white ones. They looked only a few days old so Luffy figured Whitebeard's crew must have been here not too long ago. They looked really pretty and now he understood where that small petal from before had come from.

No wonder Sanji and Zoro wanted him to see this. He gulped, sitting cross-legged down in front of it. He sighed and tried to order his confused mind as unpleasant memories showed up again. He hated thinking back at what had happened at the war, but it's happened and he couldn't change that now. Nothing could change what had happened, even if Luffy would die to be able to change it.

For a long time he only continued staring at the cold looking stone which read 'R.I.P Portgas D. Ace'. On top of the stone were the old hat with the smiling and the frowning faces, and beside it was his sword. Around the two graves were many swords stuck in the ground, probably from the Whitebeard's crew.

"Hey Ace." he then said. Silence followed.

Then his glance wandered to his hands and he noticed they were shivering, but not because he was cold but rather because he felt sad. But he wouldn't cry right now, Ace would laugh at him if he saw that. This thought brought a slight chuckle out of Luffys mouth but it vanished in an instant. He just couldn't laugh in front of Ace's grave.

Everything seemed so calm, somewhat beautiful as the wind softly blew some of the petals through the air, making them look like they were dancing through the wind.

Luffy thought back at that time when he and Ace had been training madly after Sabo's death and all the fun they had. Those times had been great, even if they still had been damn sad about the loss of Sabo. But at least Luffy wasn't alone after it happened, he was with Ace. He still had a big brother he could lean on if he needed it. A sad sigh escaped his lips.

Those times really had been great, he thought again. Then he looked at the gravestone again, his lips pulling into a soft smile. It was great he could visit Ace.

He stood up, his head rested on his back and he smiled. Not like an idiot or from one ear to the other, it was just a small smile. But it was a honest one. "Baka Ace, doing such a ridiculus thing back then..." he said, slightly shaking his head. A long pause followed again before Luffy continued talking to his brother. "We've all found each other again. I've got my nakama back." he said, "and we went to fishmen island. I wonder if you've ever seen it, it was beautiful and a great adventure.." he stopped again, staring into nothing before his glance rested on the hat of his brother. "You've said there was one thing you regretted... not being able to see my dream coming true."

Luffy stepped forwards, and slowly took Ace's hat in his shaking hands. He looked at it for a while. "But I don't want you to regret anything. We promised to live without any regrets. So... I'll take your hat with me and when I've become the king of the pirates, when I reached my dream, then I'll come back and give this hat back to you!" Luffy's fists tightened their grip around the dark hat and he inhaled deeply, before asking, "You got a problem with that?" This was when the clouds formed a hole that was very small, but big enough to let a few sunrays escape and shine down on the grave. Luffy's smile grew to a grin.

"Yosh! Then it's decided! I'll meet you here when I've become the King of the Pirates, alright? So you better wait for me, I'll definitely bring your hat back, Ace!" Luffy said as a promise, holding the important hat tightly to his chest. Then he began to slowly walk away. Suddenly he stopped, turning around.

"I'm glad to have met you here, you know." Luffy added, still a smile present. "Because back then, I... didn't really get the chance to say.. goodbye to you. And I won't say... it to you now. ... I'll say goodbye to you when I return as the Pirateking!" With that, he was gone, the hat in his hand.

A few seconds later he returned to his nakama, reassuring them everything was okay. Although he didn't tell them what exactly he'd done up there, his friends didn't pressed down on it any further. It was enough for them if they could see Luffy smiling.

And Luffy himself did feel a bit sad, of course, but also felt happy. Not only that he now had two precious hats he had to take care of, or that he'd made a new important promise to his brother.

Also that he'd soon return and then could say goodbye.

**YXYXYXYXYXXYXY**

**So, that was it! I hope you liked it, I'm not really sure about it myself if the the part with Luffy's new promise was good or not. Anyways, please tell me what you think of it, it's very important for me to know your opinion! :) **

**REVIEW PLS! They're always greatly appreciated! :D**


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